Mama Cass’ Daughter Opens Up About ‘Gross’ Rumor Surrounding Mother’s Death

The Mamas and the Papas bandmate, Cass Elliot, a.k.a Mama Cass, tragically passed away at the age of 32, with rumors surrounding the cause of her death. The talented singer was said to have died from choking on a ham sandwich as a jab to her being overweight.

Mama Cass’ daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, has recently come forward to address the unkind speculations surrounding her mother’s passing and is determined to squash even more hearsay. The 57-year-old just released a memoir titled My Mama, Cass, as well, giving more insight into the “Baby I’m Yours” singer’s life.

The rumor about Mama Cass’s death

Although Owen is retrospectively grateful for the false news peddled about Mama Cass and finds comic relief in them, she recalled getting questions about her mom dying while eating as a seven-year-old girl. “I remember when I was younger, and I was in school. I would go home with a kid and sometimes those parents would say to me, ‘Hey, how did your mom really die? Did she die choking on a ham sandwich?’” she told Fox News Digital.

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She admitted to being negatively impacted by the tall tales, which she considered “gross” and a cop-out story from the media. Owen felt bad for people who believed the rumors at the time, and sadly, in her mother’s words, “you can’t fix stupid.” Rather than receive condolences from the public, Owen has to deal with the “stupid sandwich” question in nearly every conversation while grieving.

Before Owen’s move to debunk the “ham sandwich” story, her mother’s friend, who also worked as a longtime columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, took it upon herself via her book, Hollywood Secrets and Scandals. She claimed to be “the reporter who broke that story” and “stopped them from writing the obit” in the newsroom.

Sue Cameron had called Mama Cass’ manager Alan Carr, who said there was “a half-eaten ham sandwich on the nightstand,” to confirm the tragic news. Alan told Sue to simply report that the meal killed Mama Cass in a bid to cover up even worse news about her overdosing on drugs. Owen admitted that she would hardly be surprised if drugs led to her mother’s death since “everybody was doing it” at the time. On learning Alan and Sue’s intention behind the rumor, Owen is “grateful for that crazy story,” which was a bid to protect her mother’s legacy.